His Nanny Mate By Eve Above Story

Chapter 14: Family Event
Moana

“I’ll pay.”

Ella and I were both shocked when we turned around to see Edrick standing there, credit card in hand, his face covered by sunglasses and a surgical mask.

“Daddy!” Ella exclaimed.

Edrick handed the ice cream salesman his credit card and ruffled Ella’s hair. “Eat your ice cream before it melts,” he said, guiding us away from the stand and the people behind us who were getting quickly annoyed at us for holding up the line to get ice cream.

“I thought you had to work,” Ella said.

“I decided to come home early so I could spend your birthday with you after all,” Edrick replied. “But you weren’t home. Selina told me that you went on an outing…” I couldn’t see his eyes through his sunglasses, but the way his head slowly turned toward me told me everything I needed to know.

felt my shoulders droop and looked embarrassingly down at my rapidly-melting ice cream. We approached a bench and Edrick instructed Ella to sit while she finished her ice cream, then he stood next to me and lowered his voice while she happily swung her legs and got ice

you had no money?” he asked, his voice sounding

while. And besides, the driver is close; it would’ve only taken a minute for him to pass

jumped up from her

make her go home, and Edrick’s next words

sweetheart,” he said. “It’s really not safe for us to be

my birthday,” she whined. “You

a little girl, Edrick,” I said quietly. “Let her enjoy her birthday. And please… Join

moments before letting out a deep sigh and crouching to wipe the ice cream off of Ella’s face with a napkin. “Alright,” he said. “We’ll

theme park with just as much — if not more — fervor as she had when it was just the two of us. As we spent the afternoon walking around the theme park, I couldn’t help but take out my phone to secretly snap some sweet pictures of Ella and Edrick together. It was so sweet watching them play games together, and seeing Ella sitting on Edrick’s shoulders while we walked that I couldn’t help myself. Edrick didn’t seem to mind the photos, either, although I wondered why he was so adamant on keeping his mask on; would he really want to look back at photos with his daughter and see that his face

and insisted on one more ride before we went home. I suggested the ferris wheel because it was slow and relaxing, and both of

we were safe from prying eyes, Edrick took off his sunglasses to reveal steely gray eyes that appeared surprisingly happy for

billionaire needed a fun outing just as much as

the theme park under the setting sun, an involuntary gasp came out of my mouth. The way that the last rays of sunlight refracted across the treetops as they swayed in the hot summer breeze, and the way that the string lights lit up the

me to see Ella giggling and peering out over the crowd. And

was looking at

away quickly, as though he had only glanced at me on accident. Soon, the ferris wheel began to roll us back downward, lowering

with Ella in one of